I was going to post a note of encouragement, but Walt beat me to it and said it so well. I'll go ahead anyway.
Ideas presented to this board and the comments that follow are the reasons I'm here. Without individuals sharing their creativity and enthusiasm, the worth of this board would be greatly diminished.
Standing by for your next brainstorm!
Brad
Oh Gee, I'm sorry I started such a contoversy. In my wildest dreams I wouldn't think of doing anything to compromise this BBS. I think it's the best source of true information on any subject on the web. Having read all the comments and opinions, I agree that the BBS should stay national and local folks should localize their interests locally.
Don Sargeant CD25D#189 (I think I'll go hide now) :~{
If some other Cape Dory group wanted to start its own Web site, I would want to have links to their site from this one, so people would be directed there for local events. (We have always posted <a href="http://www.toolworks.com/capedory/ccdol ... o">contact info for the existing Cape Dory groups</a>.)I'm wondering how a proposal to investigate the formation of a national organization (in this case, a virtual organization) degenerated into a concern that this central message board would somehow disappear as a result. To the contrary, unlike most lists/boards/sites around, this seems to be the best of the lot. Why would anyone want to change that?
I would hope other groups would link to this site for the message board and other Cape Dory information that doesn't need to be duplicated. I wish existing groups would make more use of this message board to post info about their events, so they could reach more prospective members.
Does "virtual organization" mean we would be Internet-based? The one useful thing a national group (and I would prefer a national confederation of local groups) could do would be to reach off-line Cape Dory owners by publishing a national newsletter. And that would take dues, or some form of financial support. (It would also make it easier to start local groups.)Again, the adoption of a "national cape dory association" moniker and the formation of a virtual organization (who said anything about paying dues?) might enable us to become eligible for discounts, special privleges, etc. "Perception is reality."
If you want a discount at the boat store%I know we're all rich but I for one could use a break at the boat store...
bmeilink@shentel.net